


Agreeable Girl

by maebyrutherford (maeberutherford)



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Relationship Advice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-11 11:25:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7889824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maeberutherford/pseuds/maebyrutherford
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cullen helps Sera with a problem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Agreeable Girl

Cullen pulled on the handle to Sera’s room and was not at all surprised to find that it didn’t budge. He rapped loudly on the thick wood. Some people nearby looked up from their breakfast.

“Sera, I know you’re in there,” he said, loud enough to show he meant business but not enough to cause a scene. Herald’s rest was busy this time of morning, the air filled with the aroma of sizzling pork and hot coffee. The thought of being denied his morning ritual - a strong black coffee with a warm buttered scone while reading the day’s briefing - to deal with this just made him all the more irritated. 

“Open the door, Sera, or by the Maker I’ll -“

The door opened just wide enough for a blonde head to poke through. “Or you’ll what? Squash me with your jackboot?”

“I don’t even wear- “ he began before abandoning the pointless argument with a frustrated sigh. “Let me _in_.”

She cocked her head. “Didn’t hear the magic word.”

He sighed. “Sera, I don’t have time for this.” He pushed the door open and stepped into the room, she didn’t try to stop him.

She crossed her arms. “Just like a jackboot, shoving themselves anywhere they please.” There was a teasing smile on her lips.

Cullen closed the door behind him and looked around the room. “All right, you’ve had your fun. Now where are they?”

“They? What’re you on about?” The flash of mirth in her eyes said she knew exactly what he was on about. She turned her back to him, picked up an arrow from the quiver leaning against the wall and adjusted the fletching.

He looked up to the ceiling, prayed for patience and continued. “All of my smallclothes appear to be missing from my quarters.”

She flipped the arrow, inspecting the sharp head. “Whaddya mean ‘appear’? Either they’re _there_ or they’re not.”

He sighed. “Fine. All of my smallclothes are definitely missing.”

Sera shrugged. “Maybe you used them all and forgot, maybe the wash is late. Least you got the ones you was wearing, yeah?”

He cleared his throat. “Those have disappeared as well. As I said, all of them are gone, and there’s nobody else in the Inquisition that is as remotely interested in my belongings, or pranks, as you. So kindly return them. I have a thousand things to do.” He kicked aside an old piece of food that lay near his feet and wondered when the room had last been cleaned.

Sera sniggered and turned around. “Hang on - you mean to tell me that the high and mighty Commander is free-dangling? In leather breeches?” She cackled and slapped her knee, still holding the arrow. “Wow, that must _chafe_.”

He shifted and fought the urge to adjust himself, because she certainly wasn’t wrong. He didn’t want to give her the satisfaction. “That’s not important. What is important is that you return my property. Hand them over, Sera. _Now_.”

“ _Return my property_ ,” Sera mocked, mimicking his deep voice and squaring her arms before apprasing him with a snort. “You hear yourself?”

With a heavy sigh she tossed the arrow back into the quiver, moved a basket aside and lifted a loose floorboard. Cullen made a mental note to rememeber its location, then realized it would be fruitless. She’d never hide something in the same place twice.

She pulled a sack out of the hole and tossed it over to him. “Was gonna keep ‘em for a while, bored now. So - ha ha, got you, up yours. Whatever.” She folded her arms and blew a strand of hair out of her eye, flopping listlessly onto the bench cushions.

He peeked inside the sack to verify that it was indeed his smalls and not someonee else’s dirty ones, or that they weren’t covered in honey and angry bees. Once he was satisfied everything was fine, he nodded and turned to leave. Something stopped him just before he opened the door, and he turned around.

“Is… everything all right?”

She darted an irritated look at him. “You got your ‘property’ back, now run along, Jackboot.”

He set the sack down on a nearby table and scratched at his neck. “It’s just that, you gave up so easily. Your commitment to your pranks is legendary. Remember that time you stole my favorite dagger?”

She sputtered. “Yeah, that was a good ‘un, right? Enought to throw you a little bit off the whole time. Hilarious.”

He sat down slowly next to her. “And, if you recall, I grilled you about it for weeks and you didn’t budge. I even started to wonder if I had the wrong person. And then one day it was back on my desk with a little, ehm, drawing.”

She smiled wistfully. “Best likeness of my arse ever. Classic.” She elbowed him. “You deserved that, you know.”

He nodded. “Yes, I know. I wasn’t being very considerate of the Inquisitor’s feelings on that rescue mission. I know that now. We’ve since made amends.”

“Yeah, well, she had the right of it. You can’t be so big and stompy about everything.”

“I appreciate you helping me to remember that, in your own… unique way.”

“Friggin’ right.” She picked at her fingers.

“And sometimes it helps to talk about what’s troubling you. Your heart wasn’t in that prank. It’s unlike you.”

“Ugh, you sound like Josie.” She turned slightly away from him. “Look, just because I gave you your stupid smalls doesn’t mean I want to _talk_ about it. Don’t you have people to shout at?”

“So, there is something.” He heard the commotion outside of people finishing up their breakfasts and heading to their posts to begin the day. He did have to work - always so much work - but it didn’t feel quite right to leave. Sera had so few friends here and the Inquisitor would be gone for at least another month. Truthfully, they weren’t so different in that regard.

Cullen realized with a jolt that he, apparently, considered Sera a friend. The thought made him want to chuckle for some strange reason, but he stifled it with a cough.

“Tell you what,” he said, “if you wish to talk, come to my quarters at dusk. I’ll have supper brought in. If not, then I wish you well.”

Cullen stood, grabbed his sack of smalls and left Sera chewing thoughtfully on her thumbnail.

***

The moon was rising, Cullen was lost in reports and the leftover food was ice cold when he heard Sera cursing outside his door.

“Come in,” he called out with a smirk, gathering his papers. He’d assumed she wouldn’t show, which hadn’t bother him, but he was pleased she had.

He stood and gestured to the food tray as she slammed the door behind her. “I’m afraid it’s gone cold but please, help yourself.”

She eyed it and shook her head. “Not hungry.” She looked around the room. “Didn’t there used to be another chair?”

He didn’t look up as he straightened up his desk. “You stole it, remember? I haven’t gotten around to replacing it.”

She flushed red. “Right. Sorry.” She looked around and before he could offer her his own seat, she bounded up the ladder in a few smooth steps.

He walked over, peered up and her head appeared over the top of the ladder. “C’mon Jackboot, s‘all grand. Not my type, remember?”

“Of that, I’m well aware.” He followed her up the ladder.

She sat cross-legged on the bed, biting a fingernail. He sat down so they were a body’s width apart, trying to respect her space, and waited. And waited. And just when he thought she wasn’t going to say anything at all, she began.

“Inky and me, before she left, had a fight.” Her voice was quiet, softer than he’d ever heard it before.

“I see.” Cullen waited to see if she’d continue before he spoke again. “I’m hardly an expert, but from what I understand, that’s quite common in a relationship.”

“No,” she shook her head fervently, “you don’t get it. It was big. Not like I don’t like your cooking or you said a thing that made me feel bad or whatever. She might- “ she wiped a sleeve across her nose and sniffed, “ -I think she might _leave_.”

The more Cullen tried to meet Sera’s gaze, the more she turned away from him. He was touched that she cared so deeply for their cause. “Sera, despite whatever argument you may have had, I assure you the Inquisitor will remain at her post. I happen to know she takes her role very seriously.”

Sera slapped her thighs in exasperation. “No, I mean leave _me_ , you daft git!”

Oh. Cullen felt a little foolish but didn’t take offense. He’d never seen Sera like this. Tears streaked down her cheeks and she wiped them off furiously as quick as they came.

“Do you want to tell me what you quarrelled about?”

She rubbed her knees. “It’s like this. I don’t like elfy-elves, and she’s Dalish. Fine, whatever, but she’s different. She takes me like I am, doesn’t act elfy. But the temple happens, proves it’s all a crock, there’s no Mythal or any of that elven-glory crap, just demons. I say so, and she says keep an open mind, she’s still not sure. I say that’s a load of shit. Elfy-elves always think I’m stupid, that they’re better than me, like that puckered-up Solas.”

She looked at him with pleading eyes. “You get it, you like hitting things, _real_ things, not make-believe. I’m not stupid, she can’t think I’m stupid!”

Cullen rubbed his chin and thought about how she should respond. He of course believed wholly in the Maker, but he’d always respected the beliefs of the other races. “Well, the Dalish might say that the Maker isn’t real.”

“But Andraste was a real person! Everyone knows it! And just ‘coz I got pointy ears I’m supposed to worship a bunch of demons? Piss on that!”

“So I take it she left angry?”

She nodded and started to cry again. “Didn’t help that I told her to bugger off, like an arse.” She shook her head. “Shouldn’t have done that. Made it worse.”

“I see. I had wondered why you didn’t accompany her to the Hissing Wastes.” Cullen was surprised to find that he had a pretty good idea of what to say. The question was, did Sera want to hear it? He reached out toward her slowly and when she didn’t recoil, he let his hand rest on her shoulder.

“Sera, I don’t think for a moment that the Inquisitor thinks any less of you for your beliefs, or lack thereof. She accepted me, a former Templar, a group that doesn’t exactly have a history of being kind to mages.”

She snorted through her tears, and Cullen smirked, releasing her shoulder. “Yes, I realize that’s putting it mildly. My point is, I wouldn’t have blamed her at all had she dismissed me based on my history and… current challenges, but she showed me a kindness that I’m still not sure I deserved.”

Sera sniffed, he continued. “The Inquisitor has proven to be quite a remarkable person. She doesn’t judge you like Solas or the other Dalish you’ve encountered in your life. Is it not fair to ask that you refrain from judging her so harshly for her beliefs? Your differences need not define your relationship.”

She rubbed her eyes vigorously. “But I have to believe in something, and it can’t be a lie, or demons, or I don’t know what’s real. If she believes it, then the world doesn’t make any sense!” Her voice was reedy, desperate.

Cullen nodded sagely, even though inside he was astonished. He’d never expected that of all people Sera would be experiencing a crisis of faith, and that he’d be the one helping her work through it.

“We all need to believe in something,” he said. “But sometimes having the right people by our side can help to make sense of the world around us. Don’t shut them out. Take it from someone who knows.”

They sat there side by side on his bed in silence, Sera twiddling her fingers and Cullen rigid with his hands on his knees, watching, waiting, until she spoke so softly he almost had to ask her to repeat herself.

“I’m glad you stopped. Taking that poison. Brave, that.” She looked up at him and grinned, her old voice back. “The people by your side, yeah? Count me in.”

Cullen’s heart swelled at least another size. “And I stand by yours, Sera.”

She dragged her sleeve across her damp cheeks, slapped him on the back so hard he coughed, and leapt to her feet.

“Thanks for the advice, Jackboot. I dunno how, but I’m gonna make it right with Inky.” She tapped her chin in thought, then her eyes opened wide. “I know! I’ll write a letter!”

He got to his feet. “That’s an excellent idea. We can send it along with the correspondence.”

She paced the room. “I’m not too good with words though.” She stopped in front of him and whispered with glee. “Oooh, I could write a _sexy_ letter!”

Cullen cleared his throat. “I’m sure whatever you decide will be fine. Now if you’ll excuse me-”

Sera didn’t appear to hear him. “Dear Inky, I’m sorry about our fight. When you get home I’ll make it up to you- “

“Sera, I don’t think I should be hearing- “

“-by doing that thing you like with _both_ toys at the same time!” She cackled and made an obscene gesture with her fist. “Oh, she’ll LOVE that!”

An image flashed into Cullen’s mind and he quickly dismissed it, but not before his cheeks and neck heated up. He quickly guided the giggling elf toward the ladder. “Good _night_ , Sera!”


End file.
